Thursday, January 10, 2013

Split Pea Soup Flavored with Ham and Rosemary + secrets to making a great soup

For some people, soup is reserved for fall and winter. Not us. We eat soup year-around and enjoy it no matter what the weather or the season. It’s been rather warm this week and a couple of days the high was in the low eighties. You would think it was April rather than January. This guy was sitting on the top of our car yesterday in Naples and sends his greeting from the Gulf coast of southwest Florida. Someone joked that maybe he was tired and wanted a catch a ride.

One of our all time favorite soups, and one of the easiest to make, is split pea soup. In fact I posted it a couple of years ago, link here. But today my split pea soup is a little different because I have a left-over ham bone from a baked ham that I want to use. Basically you just add the ham bone to the liquid of the split pea soup while it cooks. However, the ham bone will add more fat to the soup than I want, so I plan to skim to fat from the top of the soup. To do that I’m going to let the soup sit overnight in the refrigerator after it’s cooled from cooking and skim the fat from the top the next day. For a vegetarian soup, leave out the ham entirely and substitute vegetable broth for the beef broth called for in the list of ingredients.

Before we get to the recipe, I want to share a couple of secrets to making a rich and flavorful soup. The first is sautéing the vegetables until they lightly browned. My mother used to throw the vegetables in without browning them first. While there’s nothing wrong with that, and it does save some time, if you brown the vegetables first your soup will have a much richer flavor. Here’s what I do. I start sautéing the vegetables on high heat, then quickly switch to low, season with salt and pepper, and cook them slowly until they are nice and brown, taking care that they not burn.

The second secret is to add the herbs and a little bit of tomato paste to the vegetables at the end of the browning stage to let them flavor the vegetables at that stage. The tomato paste brings an incredible amount of flavor to the mixture and it’s nice for the herbs to sauté a minute or two to incorporate them with the vegetables.

Combine the peas, liquid, and ham bone in a large stockpot, cover, bring to a boil. When the mixture boils, turn to low and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, checking at 45 minutes for doneness.

In the meantime add the olive oil to a nonstick skillet over high heat. Start the vegetables off on high and quickly turn heat to very low, stirring very frequently. Sauté the vegetables until they are well softened and have taken on a slightly golden hue. Add thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic and stir to cook for a moment. Add tomato paste, stir well, and cook a couple of minutes more to incorporate the tomato paste. Add soy sauce & cook until the liquid evaporates.

Add vegetables to the peas along with the bay leaf. Peas should be done in about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove and discard bay leaf and the ham bone. Taste and season the soup with salt and pepper and add more liquid if necessary. Cover the soup and when it is cool, transfer to the refrigerator overnight.

The next day remove the layer of fat that has formed over the soup overnight and discard. At this point heat the soup up, then puree it with a wand mixer (or use a blender) or puree half and leave the remaining half of the soup chunky. Serve right away, or cool and store in the refrigerator, covered, for 2 to 3 days.

Before serving soup, combine the last minute seasonings in a small bowl and stir into the soup. Spoon soup into serving bowls and top with about a tablespoon or so of sour cream.

Good Afternoon Sam, Split pea and ham soup is a soup which is traditionally made here in the North East of England. The first time I tasted it was when I came to visit George's parents many years ago and it was George's father who cooked the soup. George's Uncle Ted is 81 years old and still makes this soup as it is so nutritious. It is a delicious soup and I love your version which includes thyme and rosemary.Enjoy your day. Best Wishes Daphne

I have used the same split pea soup recipes for many years and I think it's time I tried something new. I'm intrigued by the addition of paprika and soy sauce. Your version has much more flavor than mine, Sam, and it will be fun to give it a try. I just happen to have a ham bone in the freezer so I'm all set.

Hi Sam,This is a great post with really good secret tips for soup. I like to saute or roast my vegetables for a very flavorful soup. Your Split Pea Soup With Ham looks delicious, it has some of my favorite ingredients.

Thank you so much for celebrating TWO YEARS with FULL PLATE THURSDAY, I appreciate your visit!Come Back SoonMiz Helen

I just made a split soup, using my pressure cooker. Browning veggies really does make a huge difference. I never thought to add rosemary to my pea soup, and I have a huge rosemary bush in my garden. Thanks for a great idea.

Honestly, Sam, sometimes I wonder about myself. I could have sworn I made a comment when I saw this on Facebook! Oh well. Age? Exhaustion from the move? (That's a better excuse.)Anyway....we all have recipes for pea soup, usually inherited. My sister and mother were the soup-makers in our family. However, I used to make it constantly for my parents, especially after my mother stopped cooking in her later years. Between that and barley, they loved soup for lunch. Whether I will ever make it again, I don't know. I got tired of it. Yours has some lovely innovations, though. Tempting to try again. Browning the veggies is a great idea. The paprika, soy sauce and tomato paste is new to me too.

My mom didn't saute vegetables before adding to soup either, and now I can't imagine NOT doing that. My secret ingredient is Pickapeppa sauce rather than tomato, but which ever you use, it sure makes a difference. We're like you Sam, we enjoy soup year round. Your hitch hiker is a Cattle Egret. We only have them in Colorado in the Summer.

I am an all year round soup lover. Soup to me is soulful and comforting. My husband would disagree , he likes soup only when it is cold. Our winter in North Florida has been very mild too.

Browning the vegetables before adding additional ingredients is an excellent idea. I know that Emeril does that-the vegetables have an opportunity to caramelize, and that is definitely going to add a richer flavor.

I'll be back. I have a hambone from the holidays and just pulled it out of the freezer. Love some of the flavors I never use - the tomato paste - the herbs...making this, Sam. I have good luck with your recipes.

I would eat soup every day if I could (sons and DH not really OK with this.....)Thanks for sharing this great recipe, Sam. I will try it before the end of the week for sure.Cheers,Anne Touraine (Playing with Scarves)

I enjoy reading each and every comment. I really appreciate your taking the time to visit my blog and I hope you'll return again soon.

If you have a question, I like to get back to you personally via email. Quite often I can't do so because your profile does not contain your email address and it bounces back as a "no-reply." So if you're set up as a "no reply," please leave a way for me to contact you so I can answer your questions. Sam

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About Me

I'm a retired executive turned writer & food columist. Currently I write a food column, “From My Carolina Kitchen,” for my local newspaper.
I have entered three recipe contests and was a winner in each:
Won the state of Mississippi's Chicken Contest in 1993 and participated in the 40th annual National Chicken Contest, one of the "big three" national competitions. It is the oldest contest of its kind.
I wrote a food column for The Abaconian newspaper when my husband Meakin and I lived in the "Out-Islands" of the northern Bahamas in Abaco on the tiny tropical island of Lubbers Quarters. I am a member of North Carolina Writers Network.

Photography by Meakin Hoffer - Food Styling by Sam Hoffer

Living on Island time, Retirement in Abaco Spiced with Food, Friends & Rum, by Sam Hoffer

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